DOZ Issue 35 September 2018 - Page 36

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It was in the middle of all this preparation that something very strange
happened. One morning, Ray was travelling on short notice, so I rushed off to
the laundry to pick up some of the clothes he wanted to take with him.
the entire weekend indoors making love. It
seemed he couldn’t get enough of me and that
the honeymoon was far from being over. When I
teased him about it, he jokingly said he was only
trying to make up for the period when he wasn’t
allowed to touch what he saw through the trash
clothes I was wearing the first time we met. That
really cracked me up.
Six months into our marriage, I discovered I was
pregnant, and Ray was over the moon when I told
him. He really began to fuss over me, spending
more time with me and not allowing me to do any
house chores. He was really good to me, and then
when it was time for me to have our baby, he flew
me to the US and left his business to be with me.
Not even assurance from Mildred that she would
take good care of me made him leave my side for
a moment. He was practically glued to my side
and accompanied me to the labour room because
he insisted he wanted to watch as his child was
born. And he did watch with excitement as his
daughter made her way into the world and he cut
the umbilical cord. She was the most beautiful
baby I ever set my eyes on, a perfect gift from
God, and because Ray believed she was an angel,
he named her Angel and doted on her.
We returned to Nigeria after one month,
and I became very busy catching up with my
schoolwork and taking care of Angel. Ray’s mum
and mine were wonderful as they took it in turns
to help with Angel so I could face my schoolwork.
For a long time, I didn’t travel to Asaba because
Ray didn’t want Angel on the road all the time.
He rearranged his schedule so he could be with us
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DOZ Magazine September 2018
in Benin every weekend, and he moved me into
a bigger flat so that I could be more comfortable,
as I had my mum practically living with me at the
time. He was a wonderful man, generous to me,
generous to my family, and I could not have asked
for a better husband.
After another year, my degree programme came
to an end, and since we agreed I would not take
part in the national youth service, I returned to
Asaba to live with my husband. We planned to
have another baby right away, after which I would
remain in America with the children for eighteen
months to study for a master’s degree. It didn’t
take long for me to get pregnant again, so we
began to arrange for me to travel with Angel to
America. Ray would go with us and remain until
the baby was born, and after that he planned to
visit us a few times before my degree course was
over.
It was in the middle of all this preparation that
something very strange happened. One morning,
Ray was travelling on short notice, so I rushed
off to the laundry to pick up some of the clothes
he wanted to take with him. I had never been to
the laundry before because I had lived mostly in
Benin after we married, and Ray usually took his
laundry in himself. He gave me directions and
I drove off in a hurry to try and locate the place
and get his clothes. When I got there, I discovered
that the man who owned the laundry shop was
someone I’d known in Agbor.
During the period when I lived in Agbor and
dated Andrew, the man had a laundry shop in
Agbor and used to wash Andrew’s clothes. When